AmSan CEO Puts Rumors To Rest

Back in 2000, well known industry consultant Adam Fein advised distributors to “Get Big, Get Focused, or Get Out,” relative to the rampant industry consolidation then taking place in numerous industries.

New kid on the block AmSan LLC was focusing on the former, snapping up distributor after independent distributor, with no end in sight. Other independents were worried.

Soon after, tongues really started wagging. Could AmSan make a go of it after acquiring 44 jan/san businesses across the country?

Rumors about AmSan’s pending demise have swirled since I began reporting on this industry. There has been talk of customers jumping ship, employees leaving faster than they can be replaced, and the belief that AmSan’s “cookie cutter” approach to the relationship-dominated jan/san business would inevitably drive it into the ground.

What I found during a recent interview with AmSan’s CEO is that the doom-and-gloom theories don’t hold water.

While there were some tough times during the “roll up” and integration of 44 companies, most of these “growing pains” have been ironed out. In fact, AmSan is looking at its third consecutive year with operating profits exceeding 25 percent.

There remains, of course, the curiosity factor: what’s going on with the jan/san industry’s only national player? Recently, I took the time to sit down with AmSan’s CEO Michael Mulhern to find out. Read the details of my exclusive interview.

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